Annie Barrows (born 1962 in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California) is an American editor and author. She is best known for the ''

Ivy and Bean ''Ivy + Bean'' is a children's book series written by American author Annie Barrows, illustrated by Sophie Blackall, and published by Chronicle Books. Description In the stories, Ivy, a quiet intellectual girl, and Bean, a rambunctious wild gir ...

'' series of children's books, but she has written several other books for adult readers as well. With her aunt

Mary Ann Shaffer Mary Ann Shaffer (née Fiery; December 13, 1934 – February 16, 2008) was an American writer, editor, librarian, and a bookshop worker. She is noted for her posthumously published work ''The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society'', whi ...

she co-wrote ''The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society'', which was later adapted into a film.

Personal life

Barrows is the second of two girls (her sister is two years older). She was born in San Diego, near the southern border of the state of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. When she was three weeks old the family moved to a small town, San Anselmo, in

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

. She spent considerable time during her childhood in the town's children's library, where she eventually got a part-time job while in junior high school, maintaining the books and reshelving them. Barrows attended

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

, originally majoring in

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

, but graduating in

Medieval History In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

. She worked as an editor, then decided to turn to writing. After enrolling in a writing school, she then began writing books for adults. Barrows is married. She has two daughters. Her aunt was

Writing career

Barrows' first writing output was for adult non-fiction. In 2003 she turned to

Children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

, for which she is most noted and honored. Of her interest in this area she has written: :I sometimes think I've spent my entire life trying to recreate one particular afternoon of my tenth year. That was the day I lay on the couch reading a wonderful book called ''Time at the Top'' until I lost all sense of my real life and joined the life of the book instead. It was glorious, like walking into a dream. I want every kid to have that experience, but most of all, being horribly selfish, I want to have it again, too. And finally, I've discovered a way: I write books.

Published works

*''The Magic Half'' (2009) *'' The Ivy & Bean series'' (2003-2018; 12 books published as of April 2021) *''

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ''The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society'' is a historical novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows that was published in 2008. It was adapted into a film in 2018 featuring Lily James as Juliet Ashton and Matthew Goode as Sidn ...

'' (2008; Barrows is listed as co-author, after she finished the book for her aunt,

, who fell ill and died before the book was ready for publication) *Magic in the Mix (2014) (sequel to ''The Magic Half'') *''The Truth According to Us'' (2015) *''Nothing'' (2017) *''What John Marco Saw'' (2019) *''The Iggy'' ''series'' (2020-2022; 4 book published as of June 2022. A 5th book is expected on June 13, 2023) *''Like'' (2022)

Awards and recognitions

Kentucky Bluegrass Award Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the northeast, Virginia to the east, Tennes ...

nominee (2011) *

Mark Twain Readers Award The Mark Twain Readers Award, or simply Mark Twain Award, is a children's book award which annually recognizes one book selected by vote of Missouri schoolchildren from a list prepared by librarians and volunteer readers. It is now one of four ...

nominee (2010–11) for ''The Magic Half'' * Virginia Readers' Choice nominee (2010–11) for ''The Magic Half'' * Rhode Island Children's Book Award nominee (2010) for ''The Magic Half'' *

Massachusetts Children's Book Award The Massachusetts Children's Book Award is an annual literary award recognizing one book selected by vote of Massachusetts schoolchildren from a list prepared by committee. It was established in 1975 by Dr. Helen Constant, associate professor of ed ...

nominee (2010) for ''The Magic Half'' *

Sasquatch Reading Award Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (), is a large, hairy mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include: *"A large, hairy, manlike creature supposed ...

nominee (2011) for ''The Magic Half'' * Maud Hart Lovelace Award nominee (2011–12) *

Sunshine State Young Readers Award Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrared (typically perc ...

nominee (2011–12)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrows, Annie Living people 1962 births Writers from San Diego American children's writers Mark Twain Awards